URBAN GREEN SPACE SYSTEM: A CASE STUDY OF SIAULIAI CITY Erika Brinkyte Siauliai University, Tel ,

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1 URBAN GREEN SPACE SYSTEM: A CASE STUDY OF SIAULIAI CITY Erika Brinkyte Siauliai University, Tel , oikos@fm.su.lt Green areas and their systems determine general city view and structure. It can cause city space structure, complement composition of buildings architecture, create urban green areas and to improve people s environment. But the problems come then there are not enough greening or their quality are not good. Here is given information about distribution of forests and independent green areas in Siauliai city, territory of parks and square, its density and conditions are surveyed here too. Key words: green space system, green areas, greening. Introduction City is not only residential areas, industrial objects and infrastructure. Also it is a human living and working environment in which contemporary processes of urbanization. In this respect, a key role plays spaces which are closest to the human environment. It is in the city located and peri-urban spaces which play more than one useful function. Baubinas and other study showed that planting is the second (after landscape) the most valued environmental component 1. This demonstrates the importance of green space in the living environment. Urban vegetation is called green space, green structure, green architecture, green space structure, urban greenery and so on. But the most important is intentionally designed urban green space system. Green space system consists of green space as a whole composition, coupled with the natural framework parts, which are purposeful and functional composition. This framework supports the ecological stability and improves the people s living and working environment conditions 2. Green areas, which are created by human, form the 2/3 of the population environment. This greenery is predominantly in urban areas as it can look so strange 3. However, under long-standing environmental monitoring results are noticeable a number of Lithuanian urban environmental quality is not improved but has lost significant qualitative components, decreased urban spaces, recreational potential and aesthetic appeal in the last years 4. There is no exception and Siauliai city landscape, which is significantly anthropogenic over the years. Therefore, urban green space has a significant influence not only for the city scheduled and spatial structure, but it can form modern city image. It is undisputed that the city in which is healthy to live - is not only a complex of roads, buildings but green space - parks, squares, water and forest - too 5. Planned green space system should reflect elements of the inherent natural and cultural landscape structure, to ensure the recreational needs of the population too. The aim of this research is to analyze and evaluate urban green space system in Siauliai city. Materials and methods The object of this research is green space system in Siauliai city (administrative boundaries of the city). Green space system of Siauliai city was analyzed on the basis of Siauliai City General plan (2008) and Siauliai city greenery and plantation maintenance and protection of governing legislation of the Republic of Lithuania (General Plan of Republic of Lithuania, 2004; Lietuvos Respublikos Želdynų įstatymas, 2007; Siauliai city parks, squares and streets greenery register, 2008; Siauliai City green spaces and greenery management, green spaces creating and green space propagating program for years ; Siauliai city green space and greenery protection rules, 2008). Green space monitoring was carried out too. Results and discussion Classification of green spaces. Urban green space system is defined as a new green space and the existing urban and peri-urban green space aggregate, coupled with the natural and urban frame 6. It forms functionally efficient, coherent whole by composition, the satisfaction of the needs of urban communities and enabling urban environment ecological stability. Green zones system are classified as parks, squares, 1 Baubinas (n 1) 2 Lietuvos Respublikos Želdynų įstatymas (n 8) 3 Gryguč (n 4) 4 Grecevičius (n 3) 5 Stauskas (n 9) 6 Jakovlevas-Mateckis (n 5) 241

2 town or city gardens, green links (independent greenery) and greenery who belongs to the areas included in the composition of the other areas. According to what is the primary uses, independent greenery are classified into recreational purposes (parks, town and city gardens, squares, green links, and other holiday greenery), scientific, cultural and memorial purposes (botanical gardens, arboretum, zoo, ethnographic parks, art exhibitions and parks, cemeteries, memorial parks, etc.) as well as ecological protection green space. According to the land using, dependent green spaces are classified into the greenery of residential areas, public areas, industrial and storage facilities and commercial areas spaces, as well as green space of engineering infrastructure and recreation. Green space can be divided by other features: by location (central, peripheral, suburban), the significance and rank (all city, county, local), according to dependence (municipal, institutional, private) and others. But this is not the essential features of green space, but only added to their description 7. Also, according to the using way, urban greenery can be divided into general using (public) green space, limited using (embedded spaces) and not using (closed) sanitary protection of green space. Green space system in Siauliai city. Siauliai is the fourth-largest city in Lithuania. According to the General Plan of Republic of Lithuania (2004) 8, regional interest in watershed includes the southern part of the city lake Rekyva and the southern part of Siauliai is the national interest nature framework area in Lithuania. Therefore, it is suggesting the proposed system of green links and the principle of green composite axis in order to find the optimal balance between urban territory potential and natural landscape in the city urban structure. According to the City Master Plan, the system of green space has hectares (18.5%) in urban areas 9. Green space system (which cover hectares of the city) play an important and active in urban areas (Table 1). Table 1. Green spaces system in Siauliai city INDEPENDENT GREEN SPACES For the recreational purposes Parks (Centrinis, Lieporiai, Prūdelis, Talša, Gegužių, Naujasis) City gardens Squares (Sundial, Dubijos street, P. Višinskis street) Green links Other green spaces for resting (Pabaliai, Rėkyva, Margiai, Zokniai forest parks) Scientific, cultural and memorial green spaces Botanical and zoo gardens, arboretum (Siauliai University Botanical Garden) /- Ethnographic, art and exposition parks (Lieporiai, Didždvaris park) historical parks (Salduvė historical forest park) Woody plants collections (Rhododendron collection in Vainagiai) Other scientific, cultural and memorial green spaces (Gubernija park) Cemetery (Talša, Lieporiai, Donelaitis, Siauliai Jew, Soldier cemetery in Ginkūnai) Memorial parks (are planning) /- Kolumbarium teritorries - Memorial, historical green spaces (Rebels hill, Square of Resurrection area ) Other memorial green spaces (Vingaudas hill) Green areas for protective and ecology purposes Greenery of slopes, surface water Greenery of groundwater protection zones Greenery of agrarian protection zones Greenery of road and railway protection zones Other green areas for protective and ecology purposes (Zokniai aerodrome forest park) DEPENDENT GREEN SPACES Greenery of residential areas Greenery of low-rise residential plots Greenery of high-rise residential plots Greenery of homesteads (residential land) Other greenery of residential areas 7 Dringelis (n 2) 8 General Plan of Republic of Lithuania (n 7) 9 Siauliai City Master Plan (n 10) 242

3 Greenery in public areas Institutional open space (Siauliai County State Tax Inspectorate) Greenery of religious communities buildings (St. Peter and Paul Cathedral) Greenery of education and training building and construction sites Greenery of cultural and sports buildings and construction sites (Ch. Frenkelis square) Greenery of health safety buildings and construction sites Greenery of industrial sites and storage facilities Greenery of industrial enterprises plots Greenery of storage companies plots Greenery of storage building sites Other greenery of industrial sites and storage facilities Green areas of commercial objects Greenery of trade and service facilities plots Greenery of attractions sites Greenery of funeral services building sites Greenery of gas stations and auto service building sites Other green areas of commercial objects Greenery of engineering infrastructure areas Greenery of transport and handling objects sites Greenery of engineering communications service facilities plots Greenery of transport corridors Greenery of engineering infrastructure corridors Other greenery of engineering infrastructure areas Green areas in the recreational purposes objects territory Greenery of long-term (stationary) rest building sites Greenery of short-term rest building sites Other green areas in the recreational purposes objects territory Source: created by author according by K. Jakovlevas-Mateckis 10 Independent greenery for recreation parks, squares, urban gardens and green links occupy 8.6% of Siauliai city territory. Almost half (48%) of urban green space system surface occupy forests (783.8 hectares), including Forest Parks (631.9 hectares) and Urban Forests (151.9 hectares). In accordance with the objectives of farming, farming regime and the main functional Siauliai forests are included in recreation (IIB) forest group. Forests, according to recreation and visiting intensity are distinguished into two subgroups Forest Park (intensive using recreational forests) and Urban Forests (extensive using recreational forests). Forest Park (Pabaliai, Rekyva, Margiai, Zokniai) varied in form of resting in the relevant areas: a quiet stroll, picnic, outdoor games, educational visits, sports, walking or sports training (health track), orient sports, ride by bicycle, a calm rest, skiing in winter and others. Forest parks compared to the rest of recreational forests needs some clearing actions mainly. Urban Forests. The main function of the population is to meet the recreation, sanitation and hygiene needs, create suitable conditions for recreation, gatherings in nature, purify the air of cities, improving the aesthetic city view and maintain a suitable forest stands. Siauliai city Master Plan provides for the practical solutions of all the existing state of analysis and evaluation stage inventory of green areas and localized areas - urban forests, parks, squares, etc. conservation. System of green space is territorially extended and new recreational destination spaces (parks, squares), urban forests, green links formed a network, what is important for the development of a coherent system of green areas in the city. Parks and squares. 9 parks and 23 squares cover ha of the city territory. It is about 1.0% of city territory. In addition to these recreational areas citizens can rest in Salduve historic -Aleksandrija events - Talsa Forest Park (198.2 hectares), Forest Park Dainai (41.03 ha) and Siauliai university Botanical Garden (4.06 hectares) too. Parks and squares demarcation inventory was carried out in Results showed approximately actual park area is 67.2 ha, squares hectares. Presently, the total of all Siauliai city parks greenery cover the territory about 44 ha. One park plantations average is about 41% of the area. Greenery cover about 32% of the city all squares territory, there are 8 parterres holding about 350 m 2. Siauliai per capita accounts for about 9 m 2 of parks and squares territory. 10 Jakovlevas-Mateckis (n 6) 243

4 Some of the best in managed territories are Rebel Hill, Resurrection Plaza Square, Square Sundial, P. Višinskis street Square, Gegužiu street birches and Didždvaris Park. It is a good situation in the central parts of Central, Prūdelis and Lieporiai parks. However, the New Park and K. Jankauskas street Square are not controlled completely. They are fully maintained at grass, rich in shrubs of less value. Not mowed or otherwise processed areas are found in almost any city park or square. Siauliai city Master Plan does not solve dependent green spaces areas, the principles of the territorial arrangement and others issues. They are regulated by commandment of Lithuanian Minister of Environment. Streets greening. Siauliai city Municipality carried out protective plantations inventory of 297 km by roads in urban areas. It was found that there is growing 6035 solitary trees, shrubs and their groups. Crown of protective streets plantations covers approximately hectares, so that the longitudinal one-kilometer street has about 0.11 ha of plantations. It is clear that, even excluding half of the number of trees on the street intersections, entrances to the yard, bus stop and car parking facilities and communications nodes, the city streets would be much greener. Despite that Siauliai city could have at least 2-3 times larger of streets area, plantations of streets are decreasing. Much of the street trees are more or less mechanically wounded, wounds are damaged by rotting, branches are dried of pollution and others reasons. There is no doubt that such trees should be replaced by others - more resistant to air pollution, compact crown, slow-growing trees the conditional groups were inventoried in Siauliai city streets plantations. There grows over trees and shrubs, 238 dried off trees, 331 tree stumps and empty spaces. Street plantations of trees and shrubs range even more than the parks and squares. Here are detected up to 30 families, 65 genera, 176 species of trees and shrubs. Tilia cordata Mill. is usually found tree in Siauliai city streets as in many Lithuanian cities. They represent over 41% of the streets trees and shrubs. Hippocastanum is not a rare tree in street plantations (especially abundant in Dainai living area) - 8.3% (total number of trees growing in the streets), birch - 4.0%, Acer palmatum L., - 3.6%, Thuja occidentalis L. and their shapes - 3.2%, and Sorbus aucuparia L. 2.8%. Care of green spaces and its regulation. Currently, conservation, handling and using of Siauliai City green space and plants are governed by decisions of Siauliai city Council approved documents: Siauliai city green space and greenery protection rules 11, Siauliai City green spaces and greenery management, green spaces creating and green space propagating program for years Also resources needed to green spaces protection, management, development, new plantations propagating and other approved legislation to regulate the status of plantation, propagating, cutting, pruning and other care-related actions. In order to gather more detailed knowledge of urban green spaces, Siauliai city green space inventory was done by order of the Municipality and prepared Siauliai city parks, squares and streets greenery register 13. However, the legislative framework for green space management setting is not sufficient, because face challenges such as validation of greenery, vague status of some squares (independent or dependent greenery). However, noted that the planned independent recreation areas of green space does not meet standard requirements in the city Master Plan, as per capita Siauliai has only 5.99 m 2 independent recreation area of green space, which is four times less than the law regulate. The city also gets green spaces and their diversity in the lack of sufficient supervision (parks and squares should be periodically mowed), lack of trees which can attract for the rest, lack of ornamental coniferous and deciduous trees, as well as a long flowering shrubs, flowers. Overall, the total urban green spaces territory is still unknown what is difficult to assess the adequacy of green spaces in the city. Conclusions 1. Siauliai city green spaces system is divided along territorial dependence into dependent and independent green spaces. 2. Siauliai city lacks green space and their diversity: the lack of protective streets greenery, unused vertical greening opportunities, lack of flowers and various tree species. 3. Siauliai City green spaces system does not meet regulatory requirements. Independent recreational green spaces territory is four times lower than the laws regulate. Street protective plantations are at least three times lower than it should be. 11 Siauliai city green space and greenery protection rules (n 13) 12 Siauliai City green spaces and greenery management, green spaces creating and green space propagating program for years (n 12) 13 Siauliai city parks, squares and streets greenery register (n 11) 244

5 4. Some of the parks and squares are untended totally. It is full of not mowed grass, rich of low-quality shrubs, trees which are mechanically wounded, damaged by rotting, dry of air pollution and other reasons. References 1. Baubinas, R. ir kt. Urbanizuotos aplinkos fizinių komponentų kokybės poveikis kai kuriems visuomeniniams reiškiniams (Lietuvos miestų pavyzdžiu). Geografijos metraštis. Volume 36 (2), 2003, p Dringelis, L. (2005). Miesto želdynų teritorijų klasifikavimas teisinis pagrindas miesto želdynų sistemai. Urbanistika ir architektūra. Volume XXIX, No. 4, p Grecevičius P., Marčius R., Olšauskas M. A., Abromas J., Dubra V. Miesto gyvenamojo rajono parko projektavimo metodikos aspektai. Tarptautinės mokslinės praktinės konferencijos Miestų želdynų formavimas. Mokslo darbai medžiaga. No. 1(6). Klaipėda, 2009, p Gryguč G., Navys E.V. Mažo miesto želdynų sistema: Seinų miesto pavyzdys. Jaunųjų mokslininkų darbai. No. 2(13). 2007, p Jakovelvas-Mateckis, K. (2003). Miesto kraštovaizdžio architektūra. Volume II. Želdiniai ir jų komponavimas. Vilnius: Technika. 6. Jakovelvas-Mateckis, K. Miesto kraštovaizdžio architektūra: miesto kraštovaizdžio architektūros raida ir teorijos pagrindai. Volume I. Vilnius, General Plan of Republic of Lithuania. Environment Ministry of Republic of Lithuania. Vilnius, Lietuvos Respublikos Želdynų įstatymas m. June 28 d. No. X 1241, Vilnius. 9. Stauskas, V. Miestų žaliosios erdvės socialinių ir ekonominių interesų balanso aspektu. Urbanistika ir architektūra, Volume XXX, No. 1, 2006, p Siauliai City Master Plan. Approved by Siauliai city Council No. T-1. ( ). UAB Urbanistika, Siauliai city parks, squares and streets greenery register. VĮ Valstybinis miškotvarkos institutas, Kaunas, Siauliai City green spaces and greenery management, green spaces creating and green space propagating program for years VĮ Valstybinis miškotvarkos institutas, Kaunas, Siauliai city green space and greenery protection rules. Approved by Siauliai city Council No. T-354 ( ). 245